Illuminating policeman&#39;s billy.



PATENTED MAY 30, 1905.

. G. R. SOMES ILLUMINATING POLIGEMANS BILLY.

APPLICATION FILED JANQZB, 1904.

WITNESSES A llorney U ITE STATES Patented May 30, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

ILLUMINATING POLICEMANS BILLY.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent N0. 791,376, dated May 30, 1905.-

Application filed January 28, 1904:. Serial No. 191,035.

T or whom it may concern:

Be it kno wn that I, GEORGE RANLETT SoMEs,

a citizen of the United States of America, and

a resident of Laconia, in the county of Belknap, in the State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clubs, whichI term an Illuminating Policemans Billy, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of personal weapons of offense and defense which can be carried in a belt about the person and are usually employed by policemen and known as policemens billies; and the object of the invention is to provide a'device of this character having means for emitting rays of light to enable the policeman to locate the lawbreaker for the proper delivery of a blow complish this purpose, the billy is provided with a chamber at its handle end extending longitudinally of the club and closed at its outer end by a translucent cover or lens which is preferably also transparent, said chamber containing anelectric battery and an electric lamp in connection therewith adapted to throw light-rays outward through the'cover at the end of the club.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents, on a small scale, a perspective view of a policemans club embodying one form of this invention. Fig. 2 represents,-on a much larger scale, a longitudinal section thereof, a portion of the body being broken out to accommodate the figure to the size of the drawing-sheet. Fig. 3 represents, also on an enlarged scale. a transverse section of the club near its upper end on line 3 3 of Fig. 2 looking downward. Fig. 4 represents, also on an enlarged scale, a transverse section on line 4 4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 illustrates the use of the illuminating-club in the hand of a policeman operating on a safe-burglar.

The same reference-numbers indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

This invention comprises a short club 10, adapted to be carried in a body-belt and preferably provided near its upper end with an exterior annular rib 11, forming a handle between it and said end,'which handle is grasped by the policeman when the club is in use. This club is provided in its upper portion with a longitudinal battery-chamber l2 and at its upper end with a nipple 13, preferably screw-threaded on its exterior and provided with a bevel 14; at its outer end. The body of the club is provided at or adjacent to its handle, preferably in the rib 11, with a side hole 15, communicating from the exterior with the battery-chamber. This hole is contracted near its inner end, forming a shoulder 16. A plate 17 is attached by screws or otherwise to the body of the club over the side hole 15 and is provided with a hole registering with said hole 15, with a recess 18 for receiving a with a closure 20 for the battery-chamber,

which closure is translucent and preferably transparent. This closure may be of any suitable construction. When constructed as hereinshown, it comprises a cover 21, pref-- erably of glass or other translucent and preferably transparent material adapted to be applied at the outer end of the club and servnal battery-chamber 12. This casing is preferably constructed in two parts separated or insulated from each other, and when so construeted it comprises a lower tube 30, closed at its lower end and open at its upper end and disposed in that part of the battery-chamber which is below the side hole 15 in which the push-button is disposed, and an upper tube 35, which is open at its opposite end and provided with a flaring flange 36 at its upper end, said upper tube being disposed in the upper portion of the battery-chamber l2 and extending from the side hole 15 to the top of said chamber, its flaring flange resting on the bevel 14 of the nipple 13. These sections of the casing are composed of conductive material or otherwise provided with means for conveying the electric current.

A battery is disposed in the battery-chamber 12, and this battery preferably comprises a plurality of battery-cells, as 41, 12, and 43, disposed one above another and connected in series. Any suitable battery may be employed, preferably a battery composed of dry cells. Insulation 4:5 is disposed between the battery or battery-cells and the casing or its conductor, and this insulation may consist of a coating or wrapping or any suitable material covering the walls of the cells, or said walls may consist, in wholeor in part, of insulating material.

A spring 50 is disposed in the battery-chamber 12 between the bottom thereof and the lower end of the battery, and this spring serves the double purpose of connecting the lower pole of the battery with said casing and of pushing the battery outward and holding it in contact with the lamp, as hereinafter described.

A lamp-socket is disposed at the outer end of the battery-chamber. This socket may be of any suitable construction. As shown, it comprises a metallic cup having at its lower end a screw-threaded nipple 62 and at its upper end a flaring flange 63, which rests against the flaring flange 36 of the upper section 35 of the casing.

An incandescent electric lamp 7 O is disposed in the lamp-socket 60, the base of the lamp being preferably screw-threaded to fit into the nipple 62 in any ordinary manner. The filament of the lamp is connected with a bottom terminal 71, which touches the upper pole of the battery when screwed in its socket, and with a lateral terminal 72, which touches the wall of the socket 60 when the lamp is in its normal position.

A push-button or contact device of any suitable construction adapted to make electrical connections of the lamp with the battery is disposed in the handle portion of the billy, meaning hereby in or adjacent to the handle or where it is within reach of the thumb or finger of the hand which grasps the hilly.

The push-button shown in the drawings is adapted to electrically connect the sections 30 and 35 of the casing or other suitable conductors and is properly mounted in the side hole 15. When constructed as shown, this push-button comprises a conductive spindle 81, having at its inner end a contact-plate 82, adapted to span the space between the upper end of the lower section 30 of the casing or other conductor and the lower end of the upper section 35 or other conductor and a button-head 83 at its outer end, preferably composed of insulating material and adapted to play loosely within the recess 18. The spindle 81 is provided with a stop 84; inside the attaching-plate 17 which stop may be in the form of a shoulder or otherwise. A spring 85 is disposed between the shoulder 16 of the side hole 15 and the stop 84 of the push-button spindle, and this spring operates to hold the contact-plate 82 of the push-button normally out of contact with the sections of the casing to keep the circuit open.

In the use of this illuminating policemans billy, which is of special value at night, the policeman grasps it at the handle, with his thumb on the push-button 80. When the billy is raised to strike a blow, the push-button may be depressed by the thumb, whereby the battery-circuit is closed and the lamp brought into operation. The construction and arrangement of the parts are such that the light-rays from the lamp are thrown forward while the hilly is in a striking position ready to deliver a blow. By this means the policeman is proteeted by the position of the hilly while searching for the law breaker by the aid of the lamp contained therein, and on the discovery of said law breaker the policeman is enabled to quickly deliver a blow by the same implement used in the disclosure, and all the time the left hand of the policeman, which has heretofore been sometimes used to carry a pocket-lamp on such occasions, is free for use in defending himself or for grasping the law breaker. Moreover, the illuminatingbilly enables the policeman to observe the features of the law breaker, whereby he can be subsequently identified should he escape from the hands of the officer. The lamp attachment will also be found useful in other instances where a club of this kind is employed at night or in dark places. It enables the policeman to dispense with the pocket-lamp now used to some extent and places the means of illumination in position for instant use and where it is not liable to breakage.

I claim as my invention An illuminating policemans billy having a longitudinal chamber in one end, a detachable translucent cove-r disposed over the chambered end of the hilly for closing said chamber, a easing disposed in said chamber composed of sections separated or insulated from each other and having conductive means, a battery disposed in said casing and having one pole connected with the lower section thereof, an electric lamp having one terminal connected with the other pole of said battery and the other terminal connected with the upper section of the said casing, and a lateral push-button provided with means for closing a circuit between sald sections.

GEORGE RANLETT SOMES.

Witnesses:

WM. M. STOOKBRIDGE, FRED J. HUTGHINSON. 

